Officers used appropriate force, ASIRT rules

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team has concluded Calgary police used appropriate force in a June 2016 arrest that seriously injured a break-in suspect.

On June 11, 2016, the tactical team was dispatched to a 17th Avenue S.W. business where the 45-year-old man, who had an extensive criminal history, was found breaking into an ATM machine.

ASIRT said it was determined the suspect was holding a crowbar in one hand and an unidentified object in the other. The man dropped the crowbar when approached by police, but did not follow commands to drop the unknown object, ASIRT said.

“To get the man to comply, an officer delivered a straight-leg ‘stun’ kick to the man just above the hip,” its ruling states. “The man didn’t let go of the item, leading to a struggle. While one officer tried to pry the item from the man’s hand, others used kicks to the thigh and buttocks as a distraction/compliance technique while they tried to secure the man’s hands.”

After handcuffing the suspect, officers found a 10- to 12- centimetre folding knife in the front pocket of his pants. The unidentified object was a flashlight.

Following treatment by EMS on scene, it was later determined the man had suffered a lacerated spleen.

ASIRT executive director Susan Hughson, in a ruling released Friday, determined the force used by officers in the June 2016 incident was “no more than was necessary to gain compliance from the man and disarm him of the unidentified object.”

ASIRT investigates incidents involving Alberta police that result in serious injury or death.